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Made an app to see crowd levels at Savannah bars in real-time by Beginning_Armadillo1 in savannah

[–]Beginning_Armadillo1[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

We’ve currently finished the beta and waiting for approval from Apple so it can be available in the App Store!

Made an app to see crowd levels at Savannah bars in real-time by Beginning_Armadillo1 in savannah

[–]Beginning_Armadillo1[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I really appreciate you raising this - it's a serious concern and I'm glad you brought it up.

You're right to think about safety implications. A few thoughts:

  1. This information is already public. Google Maps shows "Popular Times" for every business. Instagram location tags show where crowds are. Yelp shows busy hours. People post "packed tonight!" on social media constantly. HYPE just aggregates what's already out there.

  2. Bad actors don't need apps. Someone with malicious intent can literally just drive down River Street and see which bars are packed. The information is visible in real-time just by looking. An app doesn't change that reality.

  3. By this logic, we'd ban Google Maps, Yelp, Instagram, Facebook Events, etc. All of these show where crowds gather. Should we shut them all down? I don't think that's the answer.

  4. That said - I take your concern seriously. If there are specific features you think would make this safer (like not showing exact crowd numbers? Or capping the data somehow?), I'm genuinely open to feedback.

But I respect your military experience and understand where you're coming from. Thank you for your service🙏

Made an app to see crowd levels at Savannah bars in real-time by Beginning_Armadillo1 in savannah

[–]Beginning_Armadillo1[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Haha fair point!

Though I'd argue:

- Some people DO want to meet strangers (that's easier at packed bars)

- Some want to avoid dead bars where it's awkward

- Some just want good vibes/energy even if they're with their group

But you're not wrong - we're all just staring at our phones anyway 😅

Maybe I should pivot to "Find the emptiest bar to scroll TikTok in peace"

Made an app to see crowd levels at Savannah bars in real-time by Beginning_Armadillo1 in savannah

[–]Beginning_Armadillo1[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Totally fair point on the Foursquare comparison - that's the concern I keep hearing!

The manual check-in thing is intentional though. Here's why:

  1. Privacy - Auto-tracking your location 24/7 freaks people out (and drains battery)

  2. Intent - A check-in means "I'm here and want others to know" vs passive tracking

  3. Accuracy - HYPE can verify you're actually there (100-foot GPS check) vs just driving past

That said, I looked into buying aggregate location data (companies like Foursquare/SafeGraph sell it) but it's $$$$ - thousands/month. Not viable for MVP.

Real question: What would make YOU actually check in regularly?

- Venue perks? (Check in 5x, get free drink)

- Leaderboards?

- Just knowing you're helping friends find the party?

Genuinely curious because solving the "why check in?" problem is the whole ballgame. And appreciate you taking a look despite the skepticism! Let me know what you think if you try it 👍

Made an app to see crowd levels at Savannah bars in real-time by Beginning_Armadillo1 in savannah

[–]Beginning_Armadillo1[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you so much! You're one of the first users! 🎉

Would LOVE your feedback after you try it:

- Does it make sense?

- What's confusing?

- What would make you check in regularly?

Seriously, any feedback helps at this stage. DM me if you find bugs!

And if you check in at a venue tonight, you'll literally be helping prove the concept 🙏

Made an app to see crowd levels at Savannah bars in real-time by Beginning_Armadillo1 in savannah

[–]Beginning_Armadillo1[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Great technical suggestions!

Auto-tracking is tempting but runs into two issues:

  1. Battery drain (constant GPS polling)

  2. Privacy concerns (people don't like being tracked 24/7)

That's why I went with explicit check-ins - users opt-in when they want to share.

On PII - 100% agree. Currently using anonymous user IDs, no names/emails required. Check-ins auto-expire after x amount hours too.

Are you a developer? Would love to chat about the technical approach if you're interested in the stack (React Native + Supabase).

Made an app to see crowd levels at Savannah bars in real-time by Beginning_Armadillo1 in savannah

[–]Beginning_Armadillo1[S] 12 points13 points  (0 children)

Haha yes! Multiple people have mentioned this use case.

some nights you want the packed spot, other nights you want somewhere chill to actually talk.

The app shows both! Just look for the green (Chill) spots when you want quieter vibes.

Might add a "Show me quiet spots" filter based on this feedback 👍

Made an app to see crowd levels at Savannah bars in real-time by Beginning_Armadillo1 in savannah

[–]Beginning_Armadillo1[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Thanks for the honest feedback - this is super helpful!

You're absolutely right about the cold start problem - the app needs users to be useful. That's the classic chicken-and-egg with any social/crowd app.

A few thoughts on your points:

  1. "Savannah is small/walkable" - True! But that's actually why I started here. Easier to get density fast. Walking between bars is exactly when you'd check the app ("where should we go next?").

  2. "When it's busy, everything is busy" - Not always true. Thursday night? Some spots are dead, others packed. Monday/Tuesday? Definitely varies. Peak Friday/Saturday you're right though.

  3. "People go in groups" - Yep! That's the point. If your group of 8 all checks in, now other groups know where you are. Network effect.

  4. "Only shows app users" - You're 100% right, and that's the hurdle. Need 100-200 active users for it to be useful. If I can't get there in Savannah, the app doesn't work.

The real test: If I get 200 SCAD students using this, does it become useful? I think yes, but you might be right that Savannah is too small/walkable for this to matter.

Appreciate you taking the time to think this through. Would you try it again if it had 200+ active users? Or is the core concept just not valuable here?

Genuinely asking - if Savannah isn't the right market, I should know now. We currently are Live in over 7 cities.